Man arrested during Virginia school board meeting about transgender children and critical race theory blasts 'tyrannical' attitude of educators and says parents have 'given up our rights'
A Virginia man who was arrested after refusing to leave a school board meeting that was discussing a controversial 'critical race theory' curriculum alongside proposals for a new contentious transgender policy has said the meeting was being run by a 'tyrant'.
Loudoun County resident, John Tigges, was put in handcuffs by county police for refusing to leave the meeting on Tuesday after the Loudoun County School Board cut off public comment while the residents debated the issue.
County residents arrived early to pack the auditorium as 259 residents signed up to speak during the public comment session before the debates became so heated that at least two men were eventually arrested for refusing to leave the building. The men were protesting the policy.
John Tigges who was arrested after refusing to leave a school board meeting that was discussing a controversial 'critical race theory' curriculum alongside proposals for a new contentious transgender policy has spoken out about his experience
Jon Tigges is detained following a controversial Loudoun County School Board meeting which included discussion of Critical Race Theory
Tigges was assigned to give comments in front of parents and community members who were present.
Community members lined up to peacefully share their sentiments when the meeting was 'suddenly' declared an unlawful assembly and police officers came in, threatening arrest.
'I was in a place where free speech has to happen,' Tigges said. 'If you want to redress your grievances about a school board, there's no other place you can do it than in a school board meeting.
''Every single person there, all 500 parents, had their First Amendment rights trampled on by the Loudoun County school board and its superintendent,' he continued.
Tigges was assigned to give comments in front of parents and community members who were present but was arrested after being told the meeting was an 'unlawful assembly'
Tigges was one of two men who were eventually arrested for refusing to leave the building
A Sheriff can be seen confronting John Tigges after he refused to leave the meeting
Tigges was placed in handcuffs after refusing to cooperate and marched out of the room
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
The parents were debating a draft of the proposed 8040 policy on restrooms that reads that 'students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their gender identity,' as school district leaders say they are moving to make schools more inclusive for transgender students - something that is considered by some parents as challenging traditional religious beliefs.
The comments went smoothly through the first half-dozen speakers who supported the 8040 proposal until the seventh speaker was booed for insulting Christian parents in the district who oppose the policy.
'What stood out to me the most is just how easily we've given up our rights and how easily we've retreated over the last 50 years. As I was standing there in the front of the room and realizing that people felt like they had no options after the school board,' Tigges explained.
'That's what I felt. It's like we can't take another defeat if we walk out of here based on some tyrant declaring that a lawful assembling was, 'unlawful', we're going to lose again and that it was time to stand our ground and that we weren't going to leave there unless people had an opportunity to do what they'd come to do, which was to air their grievances to public officials and hope that they would listen.
'The reality is clear. They don't want to listen. They're not listening. And that our only option is that we, the people take back our country,' Tigges said to Fox News.
Shelley Slebrch and other angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Angry community members and parents sing the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
A woman, who identified herself as the mother of a transgender Loudoun student, had said that 'hate' was 'dripping from the followers of Jesus in this room' - which promoted the board to call a five-minute recess for parents to cool down.
Brenda Sheridan, the board chair, warned residents after the recess that members of the board had voted unanimously to end public comment if the room again became disruptive.
'The board is here to hear from everyone,' she said.
'We started our meeting early because we knew we would have a large crowd and we had a large agenda. We ask again that you respect each other, and everyone is allowed to speak.'
Parents in the audience were also protesting recent moves by the board to promote critical race theory, which they said was racist indoctrination.
Over the past year, numerous public and private schools across the US have opted to incorporate CRT into their teachings - sparking a nationwide debate in which Loudoun County has emerged as a flashpoint.
Critical race theory asserts US institutions are inherently racist
The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States over the last year.
The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project.
The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by 'placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative'.
The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist.
Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color.
Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law.
The theory asserts that 'institutions are inherently racist and that race itself... is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color', according to Texas A&M University professor Tommy Curry.
Meanwhile, during the public comments, some parents also brought up another topic of debate in the community - the suspension and reinstatement of Tanner Cross - and asked the board not to appeal the court order reinstating him.
A judge ordered the Leesburg Elementary gym teacher to be reinstated after he was suspended last month after giving a speech opposing the transgender policy claiming it went against his religion.
Earlier this month, an eighth grader slammed Loudoun County Public Schools for a policy she claimed allows boys use girls locker rooms, putting female students in danger.
Jolene Grover, 14, spoke at the school district's board meeting in early June to address the proposed policy 8040.
She was pulled from a LCPS school last year by her mother.
'Two years ago, I was told policy 1040 was just an umbrella philosophy and you weren't going to allow boys into the girls' locker rooms. But here you are doing just that,' Grover said while wearing a shirt that read 'Woman is female.'
Some on the board, which has sparked controversy with its embrace of CRT and the transgender policy, is now facing recall efforts.
One woman at Tuesday's meeting urged several board members, facing a recall effort, to resign and save taxpayers even more money.
Others blasted a district official who allegedly made threatening Internet searches on a district smartphone.
Dick Black, a former state senator, ripped the board for its treatment of Cross - which prompted the chamber to erupt into cheers, Fox News reported.
The board then unanimously voted to end public comment after only 51 parents were heard.
Parents then led loud chants of 'Shame on you!' directed at the board.
Some demanded that the board members resign while some parents in the room sang The Star-Spangled Banner.
Others parents who had not yet been able to speak attempted to remain in the room to give their opinions before the crowd.
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory enter a school board meeting at the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Concerned community members and parents wait to enter a controversial school board meeting at the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Amy Jahr sings the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Supporters of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory and transgender students meet outside the Loudoun County School Board headquarters before a school board meeting, in Ashburn, Virginia
Amy Jahr sings the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Elicia Brand leads a crowd of angry parents and community members in the singing of the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Deputies told one of the men who refused to leave he would be arrested for trespassing if did not exit the room. He was ultimately issued a trespassing summons and released.
A second man was also arrested for 'acting disorderly and displayed aggressive behavior towards another attendee', a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office told Fox News.
'A second adult male was acting disorderly and displayed aggressive behavior towards another attendee,' the spokesperson said.
'A deputy intervened and the subject continued to be disorderly with the deputy. LCSO Deputies attempted to take him into custody and he physically resisted arrest. The subject was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.'